Christmas came early this year in the form of Fackham Hall, Damian’s gloriously unhinged spoof of the British period drama. I managed to catch an early screening on December 3 — but only after Lewisto, my husband, asked ChatGPT whether it was medically safe for me to watch a comedy so soon after surgery. I know, I know! His fear was that I might laugh so hard my stitches would burst. Honestly, the conversation was almost as funny as the movie itself. And I’m happy to report that my stitches remained intact— my composure, less so.
Going into the film, I wasn’t sure what to expect. I’m not a huge fan of recent American comedies — give me oldies like Some Like It Hot or The Apartment any day — but I absolutely adore British humour. That perfect dryness, that glorious deadpan delivery. The kind of humor where someone says something outrageous with the emotional tone of a weather forecast. The cast of Fackham Hall gets this completely: the straighter their faces, the harder you laugh.
Warning: If you prefer to go into the movie knowing absolutely nothing, stop reading now and come back after you’ve seen it — you’ll enjoy reliving the jokes even more. That said, I’m not revealing in my review anything beyond what’s already shown in the official trailer, the publicly shared photos, and the publicly shared plot. And special thanks go to Gingersnap for reading this before publication and suggesting a few edits.
I grew up on Airplane! and The Naked Gun, so I’ve always loved a good spoof — at least when it’s done well. And Fackham Hall does it beautifully. It grabs every “upstairs–downstairs” cliché you can think of and joyfully turns them upside down. Tragic family backstories, strict inheritance rules, way too many servants, stiff British manners, forbidden romances, upstairs-and-downstairs affairs, uncivilized American guests, hunting parties — the movie takes all of it and pushes everything to hilariously over-the-top extremes.
Behind the scenes, Fackham Hall brings together a top-notch team of British talent. It is directed by Jim O’Hanlon, known for his sharp storytelling and work across both film and television – and we love him even more now that we know he’s playing football with Damian in a dads’ soccer group 🙂 The film is produced by Kris Thykier, Danny Perkins, and Mila Cottray under Mews Films and Two & Two Pictures, with a focus on bold, high-quality British comedies. The screenplay comes from comedian Jimmy Carr, making his feature writing debut, co-written with his brother Patrick Carr and the Dawson Brothers, who are known for their clever, fast-paced humor. Jimmy Carr is also playing a priest with a Hitler mustache, and oh man, he steals the scenes in which he is in – just simply breaking up his sentences in a way that accidentally gives every holy message a very unholy twist.
Director O’Hanlon says in a recent interview that the movie contains close to 300 jokes. I probably caught a fraction of them, and I’m still trying to figure out whether Rose’s car license plate is part of a joke or if I’m just imagining things. Knowing this movie, it’s probably a joke.
Let’s start with the title. Fackham Hall — which, as Jimmy Carr jokes, “if you say in a posh English accent it might be misunderstood”… Hahaha. The name alone tells you the movie will be full of scandal, mischief, and general chaos behind those grand doors. And speaking of posh accents, it’s hard not to notice how much the Davenport family feels like a fun, twisted version of the Crawleys from Downton Abbey — big house, fancy problems, and a whole team of servants trying to keep things together. Even Hugh Bonneville seemed to catch the similarity: when Damian posted about Fackham Hall on Instagram, Bonneville replied with the monocle emoji!
The story follows the wealthy Davenport family and their servants as secrets, scandals, and all sorts of nonsense come to light in wonderfully over-the-top ways. Even the mansion’s welcome sign joins in the joke: Incestus ad infinitum – a reference to the continuous family inbreeding with the cousin marrying and all.
It is 1931, the middle of the Great Depression, and the Davenport household is in crisis. Lord and Lady Davenport — Humphrey and Prudence — once believed their estate was secure thanks to their four sons. Tragically (and hilariously), every single one of them has died. And to make matters even more absurd, they were named George, John, Paul, and Ringo — a complete Beatles wipeout, if you will! And this is exactly the film’s sense of humor.
With no male heirs left to keep Fackham Hall, their daughter Poppy is meant to marry her first cousin Archibald — or in her father’s words:
“She’s, after courting for a long time, finally found the right cousin.”
When I saw the trailer, I thought Poppy was the elder, more traditional daughter maneuvered into this marriage. But the movie flips this: Poppy is actually the younger one, and Rose is the “elder” daughter at the ripe old age of 23, which Lady Davenport treats as if she’s halfway to the grave.
Enter Eric Noone: war orphan, pickpocket, and accidental employee. He arrives at Fackham Hall with an important letter for Lord Davenport. But the butler, Cyril, assumes he’s there to apply for the hall boy position and immediately hires him – they need staff for the wedding weekend – and Eric forgets about the letter.
Guests soon arrive, including Lord Davenport’s Oxford classmate J.R.R. Tolkien, gathering inspiration for characters we definitely recognize. But the wedding collapses spectacularly, the family invites the guests to stay for the weekend and suddenly Rose — not Poppy — is expected to marry Archibald to save the estate.
But Rose has eyes for Eric. And the tone of the blossoming romance isn’t just sweet; it is sweet but also it has comedy, farce and chaos.
And Rose’s not the only one enchanted by Eric. Lord Davenport has eyes for the new hall boy, too. After watching Eric closely at the shooting party, he promotes him to valet — where his duties include holding olives, carrying drinks, shooting guns for Lord Davenport, and — occasionally — picking his nose, too!
Lady Davenport, ever practical, warns Rose:
“Let’s be realistic. Your father is not going to live forever.”
He does not. Lady Davenport finds her husband with a letter opener in his chest next morning. Which means Fackham Hall is not the family home anymore unless Rose marries Archibald before the murder investigation is over…
…and Lady Davenport, though she passes out upon seeing her husband’s dead body, doesn’t seem all that upset about his death. After the funeral, we see her tossing flowers as if she were a bride — and, a group of women dressed in black rush to catch them. Haha. I love this kind of wicked humor.
And soon enough, Eric becomes the prime suspect… Once the Hercule Poirot–like Detective Watt arrives — with a surname that causes its own bit of chaos — the whole thing turns into Downton Abbey meets Airplane! with a dash of Agatha Christie whodunit. To find out what happens next, you’ll just have to see the movie.
Remember, in a spoof, the funniest things are usually happening in the background. A bell labeled “Masturbatorium.” Rose reading One Shade of Gray. A bus ad that reads: “Treat your wife to a finger—” cut off by a national ink shortage. Church plaques for Willie Stroker and, presumably, Fanny Stroker. Lord Davenport talking about firing a member of the house staff for eavesdropping: the old “Alexa.” The fastest gentlemen’s tailor in Fackham is called “Tailor Swift.”
And that’s just a few of the roughly 278 jokes.
Even as someone who doesn’t usually love physical comedy, I have to admit some of those scenes are brilliant in the movie. One in particular at the very beginning of the movie, one in the middle and one at the very end – all featuring Damian – had me laughing to the point of literal tears. If my stitches were going to pop, those were the moments. Here’s a glimpse into one of them:
The cast is outstanding. Damian Lewis leads as Lord Davenport with his signature charm, mischief, and that raised eyebrow. Ben Radcliffe is wonderful as Eric Noone; Thomasin McKenzie brings sharp intelligence to Rose, while Emma Laird is wonderfully chaotic as Poppy Davenport. Katherine Waterston adds elegance and wit as Lady Davenport, Tom Felton is pitch-perfect as Archibald, and Tim McMullan remains a comedic treasure as Cyril. It’s also a joy to see the brilliant Anna Maxwell Martin, who starred with Damian in A Spy Among Friends, as the housekeeper Ms. McAlister.
Let me be very clear: Damian Lewis is superb in this film. From Wolf Hall to Fackham Hall, he can do it all – he can portray menacing royalty, and then display his comedic chops as a hoity-toity lord of the manor.
The good news is Damian appears in a far larger share of the movie than the trailer suggests — and thank goodness, because he is extraordinary. His comedic timing is razor sharp, the kind where a single look is funnier than an entire monologue in most films. We’ve been saying for years that he should do more comedy. We’ve seen glimpses of his comic brilliance before, both on screen and off (his deadpan delivery in real life is next-level). But now, with Fackham Hall, he finally gets to dive in completely and proves us right. He looks like he’s having the time of his life — and the audience feels it. Honestly, I cannot wait for everyone to see (or remember) just how funny Damian really is.
Oh, and I am still laughing about this photo! If you know, you know 🙂
Fackham Hall is chaotic, silly, and utterly charming. It spoofs the upstairs–downstairs genre while clearly loving it. I especially enjoyed the jokes that wink at contemporary pop culture as well as the background jokes you’ll only catch on your third (or ninth) viewing. But I could definitely be okay without the toilet jokes 🙂 This is a film packed with layers, and half the fun is realizing just how much you missed the first time around. Coming from someone who is notoriously picky about comedies, that’s saying quite a lot. So grab your popcorn, gather your people, and enjoy the hysterically funny ride.
And yes — I will absolutely be watching it again. Someone needs to get to the bottom of that license plate mystery.
Fackham Hall opens in the U.S. on December 5 and in the U.K. on December 12.
Great review. One correction though, the sign at Fackham Hall says “Incestus ad infinitum” as a reference to the continuous family inbreeding with the cousin marrying and all. As you say some gags won’t see first viewing, thanks for pointing out the ink shortage one and future WW2 memorial as I missed those.
Such a great ensemble cast and just a fun watch. Be sure to update when you catch the licence plate.
Firstly, thank you so much for reading and for your kind words! And secondly and more impprtantly thank you so much for the heads- up: you’re absolutely right, I first saw the sign on the Fackham Hall gates in the official trailer and read it as “Insectus” rather than “Incestus” 🙂 It’s been corrected now!
The license plate is OPY IO4 so it may be nothing, it may be something! I’m on it hahaha.
Wonderful review! Thank you so much for it! I’m very sceptical about contemporary comedies too, and I don’t like American from the last three decades or so. I would watch it at some point of course, because of Damien. After reading your review I want to watch it ASAP ❤️
Tsvete